Dysenteric

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Characterized by severe diarrhea with blood and mucus, related to any infectious disease affecting the intestines
2. Pertaining to a condition that causes inflammation of the intestines, leading to painful and frequent bowel movements
3. Describing a medical state marked by gastrointestinal distress, often involving abdominal pain and the passage of discolored stool

Etymology: "Dysenteric" is simply "dysentery" with the adjective ending "-ic" attached. The suffix has a long road into English: it descends from an ancient Indo-European ending, passed through Latin "-icus" and Old French "-ique", and reached English by way of Middle English "-ik". The English "-ic" is therefore the same ending that turns nouns like "history" or "music" into adjectives. The noun it grows from, "dysentery," comes from Greek roots meaning roughly "bad" and "intestine," so a dysenteric condition is one of disordered bowels. The suffix itself carries little drama, but its ancient pedigree is the most surprising part: a single adjective-forming ending has been handed down through several languages before it ever touched this medical word.

Synonyms: diarrheal, intestinal